Archive for the ‘Los Angeles’ Category

In case you missed it, Beck is doing 4 shows this week up the west coast headed to Sasquatch Festival in Washington, 2 shows in NYC around the Governor’s Ball Festival, and then 2 shows in August including Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. I have no idea if other shows are in the cards or not (I’d hope so). I also have no idea what to expect, but do know that Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Joey Waronker are in the band again. One site claims Smokey Hormel is back also! We’ll know in about six hours if that’s true. :)

If anyone is going to any of these shows, please keep good track of the setlist for me and send it along. If anyone wants to ustream it through their phone back to Beck fans worldwide, also let me know and we’ll host your stream link.

Also, similarly, I’ve been updating Hijacked Flavors with lots of information lately, mostly opening acts and band members and stuff. But if anyone saw Beck, in the ’90s in particular, and remembers ANYTHING about the shows please pass it on. Even if it’s a vague recollection or just one song you remember for sure I’d like to add it. :)

Finally, join our Facebook group: more ‘news’-y things happen there than I care to post regularly here. :) Also if everything works out I’ll occasionally post in there live from the shows I’m going to (tonight and Thursday).

Tonight’s show, I won’t lie, is making me quite nostalgiac. Not only with JMJ, RJMJ, Smokey and Joey… but the El Rey. My first Beck concert was in 1997 on the Odelay tour, and it was awesome. But it was the second one I saw at the El Rey shortly after the Odelay tour that really kicked off my Beck bootleg collecting. That night, “Beck and Friends” played a whole bunch of acoustic/country vibe songs, as a sort of way to come down after the long Odelay tours. Hearing Odelay live was amazing, but realizing Beck could also play other styles? Since I couldn’t go to every concert, I took to listening to as many as possible. And here we are. Beck’s at the El Rey again. 14.5 years later.

I hope it’s not a pure nostalgiac show (except for “Where It’s At”), I’m not ready for Beck to go there. So fingers crossed this summer leads to some news about more regular new music. But regardless, there’s going to be some good concerts!

So as I like to do every so often, I’ll try to summarize what Beck’s been up to in case you missed anything. And, yes, despite the lack of official Beck material, he’s actually been pretty busy! (First, check beck.com for some current news, like Autumn DeWilde’s photo book.)

Foremost, Beck has continued with the producer chapter of his career. After the Charlotte Gainsbourg and Jamie Lidell albums last year, this year he has also done albums with Thurston Moore and Stephen Malkmus. Both of those kept Beck in the news, as much of the press around their release was focused somewhat on Beck’s production. (And even some joint interviews with Beck.) Coming up, there are some more Charlotte Gainsbourg tracks (an EP and a sort of compilation album but with new material) that Beck produced, including some songs like “Paradisco” that Beck played live a few years back. Also on the producer-front, Beck is apparently producing Dwight Yoakam’s upcoming album. (!) I’m actually really getting into the idea that Beck is a producer at the moment. It’s a great position for his talents.

Beyond the producer thing, most everything else is on hiatus: Record Clubs, new albums, everything. Beck in a recent interview with Pitchfork sounded like he’s pretty unsure how to proceed, so I guess we’ll have to be patient! (And if you haven’t read that interview, go do it, it’s fairly revelatory.)

However, Beck has started doing the occasional live thing, which after a few years away from the stage is nice to see. He did a charity concert in San Francisco in May. And last night, he was the headliner of a Serge Gainsbourg tribute concert. The show, which was apparently mostly Beck’s idea, featured many singers doing the songs of Serge Gainsbourg. The house band also included Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Joey Waronker, James Gadson, and Justin Meldal-Johnsen. Beck sang 4 songs: “Nefertiti,” “Teenie Weenie Boppie,” “Les Sucettes,” and “Ah! Melody.”

I was there and filmed the first 3 songs: sorry the video quality is poor, I wasn’t close, but it sounds ok:

My video got linked around the web on some of the bigger news sites and blogs, which is great. Hope you all enjoy it! It just goes to show though: Beck, we’re all still here. We’re all still hungry for anything you want to give us, even if it’s a shaky dark clip of you singing “Teenie Weenie Boppie.” Any bit of Beck news is pored over, from recent interviews to 10-seconds of a new song being in a movie trailer (“Curfew”). Your base, Beck, is waiting… :)

Beck is playing a benefit show at The Echo on March 11, benefitting Educating Children International. I assume it is also to warm-up for the upcoming Japanese tour. Tickets at ticketweb.com if you’re in the Los Angeles area.

I would say the second night at Club Nokia was pretty similar in quality, but different enough in setlist to make it worthwhile. If I had to choose, I liked the second night better, even though the opening act (Jay Reatard) was completely off the mark (i.e., lame). Regardless, Beck came out and opened up with “Where It’s At” — a unique choice to open with, I don’t recall that happening before. It’s great for a show to start with those chords! “Pay No Mind” was tonight’s “Hollow Log,” a short acoustic thing Beck tossed out that was not on the official setlist. Surprisingly, “Devils Haircut” may have been my favorite song of the night. Beck introduced “Star Power” as “we’re going to cover a Sonic Youth song,” and they pretty much nailed it. He also said this was his last show of the year.

Beck has scheduled two shows at the grand opening of Club Nokia, a new club in downtown Los Angeles. Last night was the first. It was a loud, rocking show, almost ferocious in its attack. It felt like to me that a lot of people were there for the grand opening of LA’s new club, and not Beck, which was a mixed blessing. The crowd was stoked most of the time and really into it, but at the same time it seemed to lack something normal LA club shows have. Anyway, it was fun.

Jenny Lewis opened–I was never a big fan, but her band was amazing, and I’m definitely more interested in her now. I actually would love to hear Beck with a band like that sometime.

The sound quality of the show was maybe a little bass heavy, but I like that myself, and overall thought it sounded amazing. Some of Tron’s keyboard effects sounded brilliant, in a 3D way, they were like circling my head. Because of that, and the crowd response, the Gameboy tracks (“Hell Yes”/”Black Tamborine”/”Clap Hands”) were a total blast. (I generally hate all those songs!)

During “Nausea,” Beck’s son came and stood on stage next to Beck for a bit. Beck didn’t notice at first, but when he did, he laughed and smiled and pointed at him. Then his son was taken back, and given a maraca to shake.

“Orphans” was done full electric, faster… last time I saw Beck, they did it with a mix of electric and acoustic, sounding like the album. “Sunday Sun” was a surprise. “Hollow Log” wasn’t on the setlist–Beck just said “you guys want to hear some fingerpickin’?” and busted it out.

And finally Beck introduced “a very special guest,” and everyone’s favorite dancer, Ryan5000, came out to dance for the 3 encore songs. Welcome back Ryan!